Paragraphs 77 and 78 refer to the phenomena of nature and the course of human affairs, as suggesting and controlling the formation of the system of the Yi. The formation of that becomes the subject in paragraph 79. AAien and KhwA4n are used, as we have already seen them more than once, for the active and inactive conditions in nature, indicated by the divided and undivided lines. It is difficult to translate what is said in paragraph 78, about Tao and Khi;—what | have called, ‘an ideal method’ and ‘a definite’ thing. P. Regis translates the text by—‘ Quod non est inter figurata aut corporea sed supereminet est rationale, est ratio, Tao; quod (est) inter figurata subjacetque certae figurae est sensibile, est instrumentum. But tao cannot here signify ratio or reason; for tao and kAf are names for the same thing under different conditions; first as a possibility, and next as an actuality. Such is the natural interpretation of the text, and so all the great scholars of the Sung dynasty construed it, as may be seen in the ‘ Collected Comments’ of the imperial edition. So far they were correct, however many of them might stumble and fall in confounding this ‘ ideal method’ with God.
What follows in the paragraph has no connexion with these two statements. P. Regis, who divides his translation into two paragraphs, says:—‘ Satis patet utramque textus hujus partem non cohaerere.
multiplied by a process of addition till the (six) component lines appeared.
2. The strong line and the weak push themselves each into the place of the other, and hence the changes (of the diagrams) take place. The appended explanations attach to every form of them its character (of good or ill), and hence the movements (suggested by divination) are determined accordingly.
3. Good fortune and ill, occasion for repentance or regret, all arise from these movements.
4. The strong and the weak (lines) have their fixed and proper places (in the diagrams); their changes, however varied, are according to the requirements of the time (when they take place).
5. Good fortune and ill are continually prevailing each against the other by an exact rule.
6. By the same rule, heaven and earth, in their course, continually give forth (their lessons); the sun and moon continually emit their light; all the movements under the sky are constantly subject to this one and the same rule.
Quod ergo illas divisimus, id fecimus majoris perspicuitatis causa, non ratione ordinis qui certe nullus est, ut in re potius assuta quam connexa.’
Paragraph 79 is a repetition of paragraphs 38, 39, ‘ to introduce,’ says Afi Hsf, ‘the two paragraphs’ that follow.
The editors of the imperial edition find in 80, 81, an amplification mainly of 76, showing how what is said there of the natural phenomena is exhibited in the Yi. The concluding sentence is a declaration (hardly necessary) about the sage makers, to the effect that they were as distinguished for virtuous conduct as for wisdom,—‘the proper men’ to stand between Heaven and the mass of men as they did.
CHAP. I. APPENDIX III. cal 7. Khien, (the symbol of heaven, and) conveying the idea of strength, shows to men its easy (and natural) action. Awan, (the symbol of earth, and) conveying the idea of docility, shows to men its compendious (receptivity and operation).
8. The Yao (or lines) are imitative representations of this. The Hsiang, or emblematic figures, are pictorial representations of the same.
9. The movements of the lines and figures take place (at the hand of the operator), and are unseen; the good fortune or ill is seen openly and is beyond. The work to be done appears by the changes; the sympathies of the sages are seen in their explanations.
10. The great attribute of heaven and earth is the giving and maintaining life. What is most precious for the sage is to get the (highest) place— (in which he can be the human representative of heaven and earth). What will guard this position for him? Men. How shall he collect a large population round him? By the power of his wealth. The right administration of that wealth, correct instructions to the people, and prohibitions against wrong-doing;—these constitute his righteousness.
Chapter I, paragraphs 1-10, is an amplification, according to Khung Ying-té and the editors of the imperial edition of the present dynasty, of the second chapter of Section i. The latter say that as all the chapters of Section i from the third onwards serve to elucidate chapter 2, so it is with this chapter and all that follow in this Section. The formation of the diagrams, and of their several lines, their indication of good fortune and bad, and the analogy between the processes of nature and the operations of divination, and other kindred subjects, are all touched on.
The order of the eight trigrams in paragraph 1, is &Aien, tui, Chapter II. 11. Anciently, when Pao-hst had come to the rule of all under heaven, looking up, he contemplated the brilliant forms exhibited in the sky, and looking down he surveyed the patterns shown on the earth. He contemplated the ornamental appearances of birds and beasts and the (different) suitabilities of the soil. Near at hand, in his own person, he found things for consideration, and the same at a distance, in things in general. On this he devised the eight trigrams, to show fully the 1?, Ain, sun, khan, kin, khwan. The three lines of each are emblematic,—the first of heaven, the second of man, the third of earth. This is the most likely explanation of hsiang, ‘the emblems’ or ‘similitudes’ here. Why the maker—‘ sages ’—stopt at sixty-four figures, of six lines each, is a question that cannot be answered.
Paragraph 2. Of course it was a great delusion to suppose that the changes of lines consequent on divination could be so connected with the movements of life as to justify the characterising them as good or evil, or afford any guidance in the ordering of conduct.
Paragraph 4. Who can tell ‘the requirements of the time’ amid the complexity of the phenomena of nature or the ever-varying events of human experience and history? The wiser men are, the more correct will be their judgments in such matters; but is there any reason for trusting to divination about them?
Paragraphs 5, 6. It is difficult to say what is ‘the exact rule’ intended here; unless it be that the factors in every movement shall act according to their proper nature. The Khang-hs? editors say:—‘ We see the good sometimes meeting with misfortune, and the bad with good fortune; but such is not the general rule.’ ‘ The lessons that heaven and earth give forth’ are those concerning the method of their operation as stated in paragraph 7, and more fully in 6, 7, 8 of Section i.
What is said in paragraph 1o is striking and important, and in harmony with the general strain of Confucian teaching;—as in the Great Learning, chapter 10, and many other places; but I fail to see ils appropriateness in its present place in the Yi.
attributes of the spirit-like and intelligent (operations working secretly), and to classify the qualities of the myriads of things.
12. He invented the making of nets of various kinds by knitting strings, both for hunting and fishing. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Li (the third trigram, and thirtieth hexagram).
13. On the death of Pao-hsi, there arose Shannang (in his place). He fashioned wood to form the share, and bent wood to make the ploughhandle. The advantages of ploughing and weeding were then taught to all under heaven. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Yi (the fortysecond hexagram).
14. He caused markets to be held at midday, thus bringing together all the people, and assembling in one place all their wares. They made their exchanges and retired, every one having got what he wanted. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Shih Ho (the twenty-first hexagram).
15. After the death of Shan-nang, there arose Hwang Ti, Yao, and Shun. They carried through the (necessarily occurring) changes, so that the people did (what was required of them) without being wearied; yea, they exerted such a spirit-like transformation, that the people felt constrained to approve their (ordinances) as right. When a series of changes has run all its course, another change ensues. When it obtains free course, it will continue long. Hence it was that ‘these (sovereigns) were helped by Heaven; they had good fortune, and their every movement was advantageous. Hwang Ti, Yao, and Shun (simply) wore their upper and a lower garments (as patterns to the people), and good order was secured all under heaven. The idea of all this was taken, probably, from A /ien and Khwan (the first and eighth trigrams, or the first and second hexagrams).
16. They hollowed out trees to form canoes; they cut others long and thin to make oars. Thus arose the benefit of canoes and oars for the help of those who had no means of intercourse with others. They could now reach the most distant parts, and all under heaven were benefited. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Hwan (the fifty-ninth hexagram).
17. They used oxen (in carts) and yoked horses (to chariots), thus providing for the carriage of what was heavy, and for distant journeys,—thereby benefiting all under the sky. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Sui (the seventeenth hexagram).
18. They made the (defence of the) double gates, and (the warning of) the clapper, as a preparation against the approach of marauding visitors. The ‘dea of this was taken, probably, from Yt (the sixteenth hexagram).
19. They cut wood and fashioned it into pestles; they dug in the ground and formed mortars. Thus the myriads of the people received the benefit arising from the use of the pestle and mortar. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Hsiao Kwo (the sixty-second hexagram).
20. They bent wood by means of string so as to form bows, and sharpened wood so as to make arrows. ‘This gave the benefit of bows and arrows, and served to produce everywhere a feeling of awe.
CHAP, 2. APPENDIX III. 385 The idea of this was taken, probably, from Khwei (the thirty-eighth hexagram).
21. In the highest antiquity they made their homes (in winter) in caves, and (in summer) dwelt in the open country. In subsequent ages, for these the sages substituted houses, with the ridgebeam above and the projecting roof below, as a provision against wind and rain. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Ta Awang (the thirtyfourth hexagram).
22. When the ancients buried their dead, they covered the body thickly with pieces of wood, having laid it in the open country. They raised no mound over it, nor planted trees around; nor had they any fixed period for mourning. In subsequent ages the sages substituted for these practices the inner and outer coffins. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Ta Kwo (the twenty-eighth hexagram). | 23. In the highest antiquity, government was carried on successfully by the use of knotted cords (to preserve the memory of things). In subsequent ages the sages substituted for these written characters and bonds. By means of these (the doings of) all the officers could be regulated, and (the affairs of) all the people accurately examined. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Kwai (the forty-third hexagram).
Chapter II, paragraphs 11-23, treats of the progress of civilisation in China, and how the great men of antiquity who led the way in the various steps of that progress were guided by the Yi. Only five of these are mentioned;—the first, FG-hsi, the beginning of whose reign, according to the least unlikely of the chronological accounts, must be placed in the 34th century B.c., while Shun’s eee rl a A A A Chapter III. 24. Therefore what we calletheay t is (a collection of) emblematic lines. They are styled emblematic as being resemblances.
RR eee reign ended in B.c. 2203. The time embraced in this chapter therefore is about twelve centuries and a half. But the writer gives his own opinion that the various discoveries and inventions mentioned were suggested to their authors by certain hexagrams of the Y%. The most commonly received view, however, is that FQ-hst had only the eight trigrams, and that the multiplication of them to the 64 hexagrams was the work of king Wan, fully a thousand years later than Sbun. This is the view of the editors of the imperial Yf. If it be contended that Fii-hsi himself multiplied his trigrams, and gave their names to the resulting hexagrams, how could he have wrapped up in them the intimations of discoveries which were not made till many centuries after his death? The statements in the chapter cannot be received as historical. It came from another hand, and not from Confucius himself, The writer or compiler gives the legends current about the various inventions of his time. The making of the trigrams is placed first of all to do honour to the Yt. The account of it is different from that given in paragraph 73 of the former Section, and we hear nothing of the Ho map or Lo writing.
Paragraph rz. PAao-hsi here and in 13 is the same as Ff-hsi. As P4o is written here, there is no meaning in it; but another character Phéo ( Kel, ) is more common, and Ph4o-hsi would mean the inventor of the kitchen and cookery. This was the first step towards civilisation, and was appropriately followed by the hunting and fishing—both by means of nets—in paragraph 12.
Paragraphs 13, 14 celebrate the work of Shan-nang, ‘the marvellous or spirit-like husbandman.’ There was no metal about the primitive plough. The market for the exchange of commodities, without the use of coin, was an important advance.
The invention of the robes, or of dress, mentioned in paragraph 1s, would seem to show that previously men had been in a very rude state. The passage indicates, however, the courtesies and proprieties of social life, in which dress plays an important part, and which now began to be organised.
The infant navigation in paragraph 16 was as little indebted to the use of metal as the agriculture of 13.
Paragraphs 17 and 18 show that in those primitive times there CHAP. 3. APPENDIX III.. 387 25. What we call the Thwan (or king Wan’s explanations) are based on the significance (of each hexagram as a whole).
26. We call the lines (of the figures) Yao from their being according to the movements taking place all under the sky.
27. In this way (we see) the rise of good fortune and evil, and the manifestation of repentance and regret.
were already the practices of rapine and war. ‘The double gates’ were those of the city wall, and of the enclosed suburb. The clapper may still be heard all over China. Bows and arrows, however, came rather later, as in 20.
I suppose ‘the sages’ in paragraphs 21, 22, 23 refer generally to the great names mentioned in the previous chapters; nor can we define the distinction in the writer or compiler’s mind between ‘antiquity ’ and ‘the highest antiquity.’ Compare what is said on the rise of the coffin in 22 with Mencius’ remarks on the same subject in Book III, ii, 5. 4. He would hardly have expressed himself as he did, if he had been familiar with this text. The invention of written characters is generally ascribed to Fifi-hsi. Paragraph 23 does not say so, but the inventor is said to have been a sage of a subsequent age to the time of ‘high antiquity.’ That ‘high antiquity’ must stretch back very far.
Chapter III, paragraphs 24-27, treats of the Yi as made up of figurative diagrams, which again are composed of lines ever changing, in accordance with the phenomena of nature and human experience, while to the resulting figures their moral character and providential issues are appended by the sages. It may be regarded as an epitome of chapter 2 in Section i.
Paragraph 24. It is observed by the editors of the imperial edition that a chapter should not begin with a ‘therefore;’ and they are inclined to agree with many critics who would enter this as the last paragraph of the preceding chapter. In that case it would be a summing-up of the concluding sentences of the different paragraphs, the truth and genuineness of which are deservedly suspected. The characters for ‘ therefore,’ however, are very loosely used in these Appendixes.—The lines, as they were intended by Chapter IV. 28. In the Yang trigrams (or those of the undivided line) there are more of the Yin lines, and in the Yin trigrams (or those of the divided line) there are more of the Yang lines.
29. What is the cause of this? It is because the Yang lines are odd (or made by one stroke), and the Yin lines are even (or made by two strokes).
30. What (method of) virtuous conduct is thus intimated? In the Yang trigrams we have one ruler, and two subjects,—suggesting the way of the superior man. In the Yin trigrams we have two rulers, and one subject,—suggesting the way of the small man.
Fa-hsi, were emblematic; and they are still more so, as interpreted by the duke of Kau. Meanings are drawn from the figures that resemble or illustrate principles in the subjects to which they are applied.
Paragraph 25. The character rendered ‘the significance’ means materials, and is illustrated by reference to all the different materials out of which a house is composed. So there are half-a-dozen things about the diagrams, their lineal structure, emblematic intention, their attributes, &c., out of which their interpretation is fashioned.
Paragraph 26. E.g. an undivided line may appear in an odd place, which is right, or in an even place, which is wrong; and the case is the opposite with the divided lines. But what has this to do with the right or wrong of the events divined about?
Chapter 1V, paragraphs 28-30. Of the distinction of the trigrams into Yang and Yin.
The trigrams that contain only one undivided line—an (= =), khan (==), and kan (S="==)—are called Yang. The undivided line is called ‘the lord’ in them. It is just the opposite with the Yin trigrams, in which there are two undivided lines, and one divided,—sun (===), li (===), and tui (===>). These together constitute the ‘six children,’ or ‘three Chapter V. 31. It is said in the Yi, ‘Full of anxious thoughts you go and come; (only) friends will follow you and think with you. The Master said:—‘In all (the processes taking place) under heaven, what is there of thinking? what is there of anxious scheming? They all come to the same (successful) issue, though by different paths; there is one result, though there might be a hundred anxious schemes. What is there of thinking? what is there of anxious scheming?’
32. The sun goes and the moon comes; the moon goes and the sun comes;—the sun and moon thus take the place each of the other, and their shining is the result. The cold goes and the heat comes; the heat goes and the cold comes;—it is by this mutual succession of the cold and heat that the year is completed. That which goes becomes less and less, and that which comes waxes more and more;—it is by the influence on each other of this contraction and expansion that the advantages (of the different conditions) are produced.
33. When the looper coils itself up, it thereby straightens itself again; when worms and snakes sons’ and ‘three daughters’ in the later arrangement of the trigrams, ascribed to king Wan.
Paragraph 29. Each part of the divided line counts as one; hence a yang trigram counts as 1+2+2=5 strokes, four of which are yin, while a yin trigram counts as 2+1+1 = 4, only two of which are yang. But this is mere trifling.
In explanation of paragraph 30 it is said that ‘we have in the yang trigrams two (or more) subjects serving one ruler, and in the yin one subject serving two rulers, and two rulers striving together for the, allegiance of one subject.’ This is ingenious, but fanciful; as indeed this distinction of the trigrams into a yang class and a yin is a mere play of fancy.
390 THE APPENDIXES. SECT.IL (ie go into the state of hybernation, they thereby keep themselves alive. (So), when we minutely investigate the nature and reasons (of things), till we have entered into the inscrutable and spirit-like in them, we attain to the largest practical application of them; when that application becomes the quickest and readiest, and all personal restfulness is secured, our virtue is thereby exalted.
34. Going on beyond this, we reach a point which it is hardly possible to know. We have thoroughly comprehended the inscrutable and _spirit-like, and know the processes of transformation;—this is the fulness of virtue.
35. It is said in the Yi, ‘(The third line shows its subject) distressed before a rock, and trying to lay hold of thorns; entering into his palace and not seeing his wife:—there will be evil’ The Master said:—‘ If one be distressed by what need not distress him, his name is sure to be disgraced; if he lay hold on what he should not touch, his life is sure to be imperilled. In disgrace and danger, his death will (soon) come;—is it possible for him in such circumstances to see his wife?’
36. It is said in the Yi, ‘ The duke with (his bow) shoots at the falcon on the top of the high wall; he hits it:—-his every movement will be advantageous. The Master said:—‘ The falcon is a bird (of prey); the bow and arrow is a weapon (of war); the shooter is aman. The superior man keeps his weapon concealed about his person, and waits for the proper time to move;—doing this, how should his movement be other than successful? There is nothing to fetter or embarrass his movement; and hence, when he comes forth, he succeeds in his object.
CHAP. 5, APPENDIX III. 3901 The language speaks of movement when the instrument necessary to it is ready and perfect.’
37. The Master said:—‘ The small man is not. ashamed of what is not benevolent, nor does he fear to do what is not righteous. Without the prospect of gain he does not stimulate himself to what is good, nor does he correct himself without being moved. Self-correction, however, in what is small will make him careful in what would be of greater consequence;—and this is the happiness of the small man. It is said in the Yi, ‘His feet are in the stocks, and he is disabled in his toes:—there will be no (further) occasion for blame.”’
38. If acts of goodness be not accumulated, they are not sufficient to give its finish to one’s name; if acts of evil be not accumulated, they are not sufficient to destroy one’s life. The small man thinks that small acts of goodness are of no benefit, and does not do them; and that small deeds of evil do no harm, and does not abstain from them. Hence his wickedness becomes great till it cannot be covered, and his guilt becomes great till it cannot be pardoned. ‘This is what the Yi says, ‘He wears the cangue and his ears are destroyed:—there will be evil.’
39. The Master said:—‘ He who keeps danger in mind is he who will rest safe in his seat; he who keeps ruin in mind is he who will preserve his interests secure; he who sets the danger of disorder before him is he who will maintain the state of order. Therefore the superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come; when in a state of security, he does not forget the possibility of ruin; and when all is in a state of order, he does not ee forget that disorder may come. Thus his person is kept safe, and his states and all their clans can be preserved. This is according to what the Yi says, “(Let him say), ‘Shall I perish? shall I perish?’ (so shall this state be firm, as if) bound to a clump of bushy mulberry trees.” ’ 40. The Master said:—‘ Virtue small and office high; wisdom small and plans great; strength small and burden heavy:—where such conditions exist, it is seldom that they do not end (in evil). As is said in the Yi, ‘The tripod’s feet are overthrown, and the ruler’s food is overturned. The body of him (who is thus indicated) is wet (with shame):— there will be evil.” ’ 41. The Master said:—‘ Does not he who knows the springs of things possess spirit-like wisdom? The superior man, in his intercourse with the high, uses no flattery, and, in his intercourse with the low, no coarse freedom:—does not this show that he knows the springs of things? Those springs are the slight beginnings of movement, and the earliest indications of good fortune (or ill). The superior man sees them, and acts accordingly without waiting for (the delay of) a single day. As is said in the Yi, “He is firm as a rock, (and acts) without the delay of a single day. With firm goodness there will be good fortune.” Firm as a rock, how should he have to wait a single day to ensure his knowing (those springs and his course)? The superior man knows the minute and the manifested; he knows what is weak, and what is strong:—he is a model to ten thousand.’
42. The Master said:—‘I may venture to say that the son of the Yen family had nearly attained (the CHAP. 5. APPENDIXFIIL. 393 standard of perfection). If anything that he did was not good, he was sure to become conscious of that; and when he knew it, he did not do the thing again. As is said in the Yi, “(The first line shows its subject) returning from an error that has not led him far away. There is no occasion for repentance. There will be great good.”’
43. There is an intermingling of the genial influences of heaven and earth, and transformation in its various forms abundantly proceeds. There is an intercommunication of seed between male and female, and transformation in its living types proceeds. What is said in the Yi, ‘ Three individuals are walking together and one is made to disappear;. there is (but) one man walking, and he gets his mate,’ tells us of the effort (in nature) at oneness (of operation).
44. The Master said:—‘ The superior man (in a high place) composes himself before he (tries to) move others; makes his mind restful and easy before he speaks; settles (the principles of) his intercourse with others before he seeks anything from them. The superior man cultivates these three things, and so is complete. If he try to move others while he is himself in unrest, the people will not (act) with him; if he speak while he is himself in a state of apprehension, the people will not respond to him; if without (certain principles of) intercommunication, he issue his requests, the people will not grant them. When there are none to accord with him, those who (work to) injure him will make their appearance. As is said in the Yi, “(We see one) to whose advantage none will contribute, while some will seek to assail him. He observes no 394 THE APPENDIXES. SECT. It.
ON a Se regular rule in the ordering of his heart:—there will be evil.”
Ee en arene ae er ee Chapter V, paragraphs 31-44, gives the words of the duke of Kau on eleven different lines in the Text of the Yi, along with remarks of Confucius in farther illustration of them. But they seem also to be intended to bring forth more fully the meaning of certain previous utterances about the structure and scope of the Yi.
Paragraphs 31-34 start from the fourth line of the 31st hexagram, which would seem merely to require a steady and unvarying purpose in any one, in order to the full development of his influence. The editors of the imperial edition, however, make the whole a sequel of paragraph 5. But granted that there is no ‘anxious scheming’ in the processes of the natural world or in the phenomena of insect life, there is really no analogy to their proceedings in the course of the man who makes himself master of ‘the nature and reasons of things,’ as described in 33 and 34. Nor are ‘the nature and reasons of things’ to be found in the Yi, as the writer believed they were. Such as it is, it requires immense thought to understand it, and when we have laid hold of it, there is nothing substantial in our grasp. The ‘virtue’ predicated of such attainment is not so much moral excellence, as apprehension and the power and ability to invent, and to affect others.
Paragraph 35. See on the third line of Khwan, the 47th hexagram. If we were to translate the explanations of the line after Confucius, we should put the first two statements hypothetically; but the four that compose it seem to run on in the same way. They are all, I apprehend, hypothetical.
Paragraph 36. See on the last line of Kieh, the goth hexagram.
Paragraph 37. See on the first line of Shih Ho, the 21st hexagram. The ‘self-correction in what is small’ implies of course that the small man has been ‘awed.’ What is said about him here is true; but we hardly expect it in this place.
Paragraph 38 should probably begin, like those before and after it, with ‘The Master said.’ The characters quoted from the Yi are again from the text of Shih Ho, on the last line.
Paragraph 39. See on the fifth line of Phi, the 12th hexagram.
Paragraph 40 gives Confucius’ views on the fourth line of Ting, the 50th hexagram.
In paragraph 41 we are conducted to the 16th hexagram,—the Chapter VI. 45. The Master said:—‘(The trigrams) Kien and Khw4n may be regarded as the gate of the Yi.’ AZien represents what is of the yang nature (bright and active); Khwa&n what is of the yin nature (shaded and inactive). These two unite according to their qualities, and there comes the embodiment of the result by the strong and weak (lines). In this way we have the phenomena of heaven and earth visibly exhibited, and can comprehend the operation of the spiritual intelligence.
46. The appellations and names (of the diagrams and lines) are various, but do not go beyond (what is to be ascribed to the operation of these two conditions). When we examine the nature and style second line of it. The being ‘firm as a rock’ is understood to symbolise the state of ‘rest,’ the quiet self-possession out of which successful movement and action is understood to spring.
In paragraph 42, ‘the son of the Yen family’ is Yen Hui, the favourite disciple of Confucius. The passage quoted from the Yt is that on the first line of Fa, the 24th hexagram.
To paragraph 43, as to paragraph 38, I would prefix the characters for ‘The Master said.’ ‘Male and female’ is to be taken generally, and not confined to the individuals of the human pair. One Chinese writer says that in the transformations ascribed to heaven and earth, birds, fishes, animals, and plants are included, but from the ‘ transformation in its living types’ plants are excluded, because in their generation there is nothing analogous to the emission and reception of seed. Other Chinese writers, however, are well enough acquainted with the sexual system of plants. It would seem to me that Confucius, if the paragraph were really his, intended only plants or the vegetable world in his reference to the operation of heaven and earth, and had all living tribes in view in his mention of male and female. The passage of the Yi referred to is on the third line of Sun, the 41st hexagram. ‘The application of it is far-fetched.
Paragraph 44. See on the fifth line of Yi, the 42nd hexagram.
ee (of the appended explanations), they seem to express the ideas of a decaying age.
47. The Yi exhibits the past, and (teaches us to) discriminate (the issues of) the future; it makes manifest what is minute, and brings to light what is obscure. (Then king WAn) opened (its symbols), and distinguished things in accordance with its names, so that all his words were correct and his explanations decisive;—(the book) was now complete.
48. The appellations and names (of the diagrams and lines) are but small matters, but the classes of things comprehended under them are large. Their scope reaches far, and the explanations attached to them are elegant. The words are indirect, but to the point; the matters seem plainly set forth, but there is a secret principle in them. Their object is, in cases that are doubtful, to help the people in their conduct, and to make plain the recompenses of good and evil.
The principal object, it is said, of chapter VI, paragraphs 45-48, is to set forth the views of king Wan and his son in the explanations which they appended to the diagrams and lines; and in doing this the writer begins in 45, with Ff-hsi's starting, in the formation of his eight trigrams, from the devising of the whole and divided lines, to represent the two primitive forms in nature. The two ‘pure’ trigrams formed of these lines, unmixed, give rise to all the others, or rather the lines of which they are formed do so; and are thus compared to a gate by which the various diagrams enter to complete the system that is intended to represent the changing phenomena of nature and experience. The next sentence in the above version of paragraph 45 appears in Canon McClatchie’s translation of the Yi, as follows:—‘ Khien is the membrum virile, and Khwin is the pudendum muliebre (the sakti of Khien). It is hardly possible, on reading such a version, to suppress the exclamation proh pudor! Can a single passage be adduced in support of it from among all the Chinese critics in the CHAP. 7. APPENDIX. III. 397 Chapter VII. 49. Was it not in the middle period of antiquity that the Yi began to flourish? Was not he who made it familiar with anxiety and calamity?
50. Therefore (the roth diagram), Li, shows us the foundation of virtue; (the 15th), Hsien, its handle; (the 24th), F, its root; (the 32nd), Hang, its solidity; (the 41st), Sun, its cultivation; (the 42nd), Yi, its abundance; (the 47th), Khwa4n, its exercise of discrimination; (the 48th), 3ing, its field; and (the 57th), Sun, its regulation.
51. In Li we have the perfection of harmony; in Hsien, we have the giving honour to others, line of centuries? I believe not. The ideas which it expresses are gratuitously and wantonly thrust into this text of the Yf. ‘Ahien’ and ‘Khw&an’ are not spoken of thus. If the latter half of the paragraph be unintelligible, this interpretation of the former would make the whole disgusting.
In paragraph 46 the writer passes from the work of Ff-hst to that of king Wan and his son, and the composition of the written Yi is referred to ‘a decaying age,—the age, namely, of the tyrant Kau. Then king Wan and the duke of /4u, it is said, deploring the degeneracy of their times and the enormities of the government, indicated, by their treatment of the ancient symbols, their sense of right and wrong, and the methods by which the prevailing evils might be rectified.
Paragraphs 47 and 48 follow and expand the meaning of 45. The editors of the imperial edition say that the former sentence of 47 is the sequel of 45, and the latter of 46, bringing us finally to the explanations and decisions of king Wan, as the most important portion of the Yi. Ad Hst, moreover, observes that throughout the chapter, as weil as in the chapters that follow, there must be many characters wanting in the text, while there are many also that are doubtful. This is specially the case with 48. Where the order of the characters has been disarranged merely, correction is easy; but where characters are evidently missing, attempts to fill the lacunae are merely guess-work, eee and the distinction thence arising; in Fa we have what is small (at first), but there is in it a (nice) discrimination of (the qualities of) things; in Hang we have a mixed experience, but without any weariness; in Sun we have difficulty in the beginning and ease in the end; in Yi we have abundance of growth without any contrivance; in Khwan we have the pressure of extreme difficulty, ending in a free course; in 3ing we have abiding in one’s place and at the same time removal (to meet the movement of others); and in Sun we have the weighing of things (and action accordingly), but secretly and unobserved.